Finger guard for presses



Nov. 19, 1929. w. c. FELLOWS FINGER GUARD FOR PRESSES 'Filed 001%. 2, 1926 2 vSheets- Sheet 1 Invenfor. Wei/fer C. F9//0ws Nov. 19, 1929. w. c. FELLOWS 1,735,355

' FINGER GUARD FOR PRESSES Filed Oct. 2', 1926 Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l l I l l l l 2 if? y 2 r Patented Nov. 19, 1929 entree ewes rarnnr other V comreivr e 'eonroen'rron or PENNSYLVANIA FINGER GUARD non. PRESSES Applieation fi1ed Oetobe1-2, 1926. semi no; 123,121, I

The object of my invention is to provide an efficient finger guard for stamping or em b'ossing presses and for other. machines in which there is employed a reciprocable moving part in the path of the fingers of the operator during the feeding of the paper or material required to be a-cted upon. I My invention is also to so-construct the finger guard that it may be automatically operatedduring the normal operation of the macfhine and, at the same time, have provision for putting the guard out of operative positionwhen the fmachine is at rest, whereby access may be had to-the working portions of the-machi'ne, thes'aid'functioning, however, being preferably so controlled thatwhen the machine is again putinto operation, it auto matically puts thefin'ger guard also again into proper operation. This capacity of my invention prevents; the attendant from putting the finger guard out of use during operationiofthe press and'yetpe rinits its quick displacement when out of operation for purposes of adj ust-ment,- test or repair. Q My invention :also has for a further object thefinger guarid so constructed that it may be adjusted torsuit :dies .or counter blocks of different sizes whereby, when the die is changed according to the work to be :done, the operator of the press may at once readjiustthe finger guard so that it may perform itsfunct-ion under-substantially the same conditions as to safetyas formerly.

'VVith'these andother objects in view to -be rrermea and secured,-n1y inventionconsists of certain improvements in finger guards for stamping and embossing presses and for other machines, having the particular features .of novelty as fully set forth in thefollowing specification and defined in the claims. 7 For more fully describingthe'detailsgof my invention, I have provided: drawings forming a part of the specification, in which: Fig. 1 is a front elevation. of my improved finger guard as applied to an-embossing and stampingpress; Fig. 2 is ajsi'de view of the same; Fig: 3 is: a perspective-view showing the special means applied to the plunger for insuring.opjerationof the apparatus; and Fig. 4:,is

improved finger guard. v

2 represents the die and .3 the die-chuck for holding and moving the die as be required in stamping and embossing presses. 4 is the vertically reciprodating plunger guided in the main frame or housing P and havingat its lower end a suit-able counter- 7 block 2' adapted tojccmperate flWithth die member 2. The work tab1e,;, xtending. into close working relation with the die,plung ejr and working par'ts of the press or otherma chine, is shown at T in Figs. land 2; and the special function of my. invention to prevent the fingers, while manipulating the paperlor a Plan View of a r w y portion Of my F other material, becoming pinched or mutt lated. between the plunger and-,counter-hlock on the one part and the die :on the other part; The finger guard is shown at sand; is formed of atransverse strip of rubber prefer-'- ably fabric faced) clalnped'along its upper portion between a transverse guard barfi and front plate 1.0 by means .of. rivets or screws 10 the construction being such as to provide a yielding guard capable of forcibly pus'h- 7 ing the fingers out of the danger zone when the plunger 4isdescending. The finger guard bar 9 is secured atits ends to operating levers 6, 6, hingedxor fulcrumed at 7 and eXtendillsg downward andbent inward toward thedie so 89 that the rubber guard lies in an oblique p ane to the operative surface of the die. The upper ends of these levers 6., .6, are fulcrumed to normally stationary frames 11', 11 whichare horizontally adjustable upon the fixed sup,-

porting brackete, said bracket being bolted to the guide frame and cap 4& of the press by cap screws 5 The adjustability of the frames 11 1-1", is. to position the finger guard 8 to or from the plunger t0 .ac comm-odateitno self to diesand counter-blockslof different sizes, as indicated, for ve zkz imple, by .thedotted j lines below the letters w, w, 3 and solid lines below the letters a, zyin Fig. 2, the said designations w m, y y, and sea beinglp ossible widths of the'die's. Thead-justment of the frames 11, 1 1, is secured by having hori zontal slots 12 therein and cap screws 13 en tending through the .slots and ;-screwedin:to the side portions of the, supportingzbraclret 1G0 i each of the frames 11 and said plates are connected to said frames by links 15 and 16, the former as guiding links and the latter as operating links. The forward ends of the horizontal plates 14,14, are each provided with lateral pins or studs 14 which engage socket portions 6 in the respective levers 6, 6. It will now be understood that the links 15 are hinged at their upper ends to the frames 11 by hinge pins 17 and at their bottom ends to the plates 14 by hinge pins 18. Similarly, the operating links 16 are hinged at their upper ends to the respective frames 11, 11, by pins 19 andat their lower ends to the corresponding plates 14, 14, by pins 20. The plates 14, 14, are therefore free to swing horizontally except as controlled in the manner .hereinafter explained. T

To operate the finger'guard, the following instrumentalities are employed. The links 16,16, are eachprovided with a roller 22, maintained in working contactwith the respective lifting cams 24, 24, which are provided with cam shoulders 26. Two coiled springs 30, 30, each having one end connected with one of theside frames 11, 11, and the other end connected to one of the levers 6, act to swing back the U' shaped finger guard frame 6, 9, 6, against the forward ends of the horizontalplates 14, l4,'wi'th'the result that rollers 22, 22, are yieldingly pressed in contact with the respect-ivelifting cams 24, 24. The cams are in the form of vertical'bars guided in vertical grooves 23 in the rear end of the horizontal adjustable frames 11, 11, as shown in Fig. 2,'and' are retained in said grooves by cap. plates 23 (Fig. 4). The lift cams 24 maybe reciprocated vertically by the machine in any suitable manner provided their reciprocations are in timed relation to the operating plunger or other operative part against which the fingers are to be protected. "I have shown, however, a simple manner whereby the cams are directly actuated by the plunger itself. I provide horizontal cam 5 actuatingbars 27 at each side of the plunger 4 and. conveniently shape them to fit upon the drip pan 28 which surrounds the plunger and rigidly secured to it, the bars being fastened to the drip pan byca'p screws 29. The rear endsof the bars 27 extendiagainst the sides of the cams between lateral pins projecting from the cams. In this manner, the cams 24 are reciprocated up and down simultaneously with the up and down movements of the plunger 4, and hence in timed relation therewith. As shown in Fig. 2, the finger guard 8 prevents'thefingers getting between the die and plunger, but as the plunger continues to rise, the cams 24, 24,

' will ultimately move the cam shoulders 26, a

. finger 26, past the rollers 22, 22, and permit the springs 30, 30, to pull the guard backward between the die and plunger andto the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, leaving large clearance for the removal of the next sheet or object as well as the insertion of a new sheet or object. The initial downward movement of the plunger quickly returns the guard 8 to the position shown infull lines (Fig. 2) long before it descends to a dangerous zone. The movement of the finger guard is preferably a quickone and timely so that the operator can not avoid its meaning nor resist its action, since its ejecting movement is a positive one, being backed bythe action of cams 24. Assuming that by any cause the finger or a tool happened to berm der the guard as itdescends, the fact that'it has a rubber edge will permit the-quick'ree lease of the. finger or tool withoutinjury;

' I have beforev referredto the fact that the guard may be turned up out of operative position for permitting accessto the-working parts of the machine, but that as soon as the machine functions normally, the guard is automatically moved into protecting position, and I will now describe the means for securing these results. As shown in Fig. 2, the spring 30 holds the lever 6 of the finger guard against the pin 14 of the plate 14, but the guard may be turned 'forward and upward about its hinge orfulcrum 7 and as the point of action of the spring 30 is-thus changed from below the fulcrum to apoint above the same, the effect of the springis' to 100 hold the guard in its upward position. In this position, the guard is entirely out of the way of the operator in changing or adjusting dies and counter-blocks or for other requirements. As it is possible for the press tobe down, it carries the extensions 31 with it and V 7 causes them to press upon and force down the levers 6, 6, against the action of the springs 30, 30, until their connection points with the levers descends below the level of the fulcrum points 7, 7, and thereafter the 0 springs'quickly force the finger guard down into proper functioning position, this all being done automatically by the action ofthe machine itself. In this manner, the guard is always in position to properly function when the press or machine is in operation, but may be adjusted into inoperative position when the press or machine is out of operation. a 1

I have described invention ashaving "1'30 duplicate cams 24 and other operating parts at the right and left sides of the finger guard; and while this application gives very positive action, it will be manifest that Where proper rigidity of parts are provided, the guard may be operated by use of one cam 24 and plate 14 only. In this case, one side of the mecha- ,nism will be as shown in Fig. 2, while the other side need only provide the adjustable part 11 to which the lever 6 of the guard may be hinged.

Among the more important features of im provement, the following may be pointed out The finger guard mechanism is adjustable to all sizes of dies and counter-blocks. The movement of the guard and the clearance provided is the same for all sizes of dies and counter-blocks when the plunger is up and the guard is also up and lifted to the underside of the counter-block. If the springs 30 should break or become disengaged, the finger guard will fall by gravity to a protecting position and thereby issue the same danger warning to the operator. The guard cannot be forcibly pushed inwardly when the plunger is on its downward course and consequently it is not possible for the operator to get his fingers under the plunger at such time. I There is nothing in the mechanism to cause the guard to become inoperative and it will continue to function properly until actually worn out. The device is compact and positive and easily applied. No adjustments are required for any purpose except when different sizes of dies and counter-blocks are required. The mechanism is practically noiseless and, therefore, is not disconcerting to the operator. The guard in principle is adapted to be used with a large variety of machines.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and useful construction which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable, and while I have in the present instance shown and described the preferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that I do not restrict myself to the details, as the same are susceptible of modification in various particulars without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Having now described my invention, what I claim and 'desire to secure by Letters Patent is: v

1. A finger guard of the character described, comprising in combination with a machine to which it is applied a hinged finger guard extending downwardly and adapted to swing backward from in front of the operating parts of the machine to which it is applied to a position between them, a cam arranged at the rear of the operating parts of'the machine and operated by one of said parts, a substantially horizontal reciprocable operative position, the 'connection' of-the springtherewith will be positi'one'dabove the hinge'axis' to hold the guard raised in- 1 operativeposition, and operated the machine are provided" for automatically moving the finger guard and the springinto oper ative positions whenthemachine is put into normal operation. v j 3. The invention according to 'claim' 1, wherein further, the spring is connected. with the finger" guard below its-hinge axis whereby when the guard is turned upward outer operative position, the connection oHh-es ring therewith will be positioned above the hinge axis to hold the guard in itsnra-ised inoperative position, and. means operated by the ma'chi'neare provided for automatically moving the finger guard and the spring lnto operative positions when the machine 1s put into normal operation, said means consisting of an extension moving with an operative part of the machine and projecting laterally over a portion of the hinged finger guard to push it downward against the action of the spring. V I

4. The invention according to claim 1,

wherein further, an adjustable frame is pros vided to which the finger guard and reciprocable part are hinged and by which the cam is supported, a supporting frame is fixedly secured to the machine, and adjusting means are arranged for connecting the adjustable frame to the supporting frame in different positions of adjustment.

5. The invention according to claim 1, wherein further, lever means are provided between the reciprocable part and the cam whereby the action of the cam upon the finger guard provides an increased movement of the latter.

6. The invention according to claim 1,

wherein further, the reciprocable part comprises a horizontal plate hung by parallel links and the cam consists of a vertically reciprocable cam bar having a side cam surface and operating upon one of the links-by means of a roller carried thereby. v V

7. The invention according to claim 1, wherein further, the finger guard comprises a U shaped metallic frame having its lower part provided with a horizontal bar having a pliable rubber strip projecting downward.

8. The invention according to claim ,1, wherein further, thereciprocable part is hung in links so as to swing horizontally in one direction underthe actionof the spring and in the other direction under the action of the cam. i a V 9. The combination with a machine having stamping dies of a finger hinged on a horizontal axis in front of the dies and normally hanging downward but capable of being turned in an upward position above the axis,-

an operating means for the finger guard arranged at the rear of the dies and operated by the machine simultaneously with the operation of the dies thereof, a mechanical connection between the operating means and the pivoted finger guard when hanging in its downward position, and a spring .connecting with the finger guard at a point below its axis whereby the guard is yieldingly V pressed against the mechanical connection to insure a backward motion to the guard under the control of the operating means and whereby further the spring holds the guard out of operative connection with the mechanical means when the guard is turned in an upward direction. a

In testimony of which unto set my hand.

- WALTER C. FELLOWS.

invention, I here:

New 

